Mantua council weighs dissolving town police and contracting sheriff and court services

The Mantua Town Council on May 27 examined a proposal that could dissolve the town police department and justice court and replace them with contracted services from Box Elder County and the Utah Highway Patrol as part of efforts to close a $113,001.42 budget deficit.

Annie, chief civil deputy attorney for Box Elder County, told the council the county could provide multiple contracting options: full dissolution (town keeps related citation revenue but loses the court), a shared‑fee dormant model (the town’s court goes dormant with a roughly 50/50 split of fines and fees), or a full contracted service that would run the court, prosecution and victim advocacy for a monthly fee plus a revenue split. Annie said termination and amendment clauses would be negotiable and that transitions typically take three to six months.

The Administrative Office of the Courts’ representative, Jim Peters, presented court revenue and filing data showing that traffic citations are the court’s primary case type and that most defendants processed in Mantua’s justice court did not live in town. Peters warned a pending rule could require a bailiff at every public hearing, which would increase operating costs for any small justice court.

Council staff described law enforcement cost trends: the town’s police budget rose substantially in recent years and the chief’s FY27 proposals ranged widely; staff said a sheriff’s contract with dedicated hours could lower average response times because the Box Elder County average dispatch‑to‑arrival time (24 minutes, 26 seconds in the provided data) was faster than the town’s reported average (34 minutes, 1 second).

Jim Jones, a former Mantua police chief who addressed the council during the meeting, urged keeping local control. “Let’s keep control of it. Let’s have a department that is Mantua and is for Mantua and is governed by Mantua,” Jones said, arguing local officers provide community knowledge and proactive patrols that reduce crime.

Several residents said the local police presence provides a sense of safety and quick on‑scene assistance for emergencies and special events. “I want to feel safe leaving my kids outside,” said Jenny Gohmert, who identified herself as a new resident, while others stressed that much of the town’s calls are traffic related and that a contracted deputy stationed 40 hours a week could deliver consistent coverage for those needs.

County staff said contracted deputies assigned to Mantua would be a dedicated liaison and that any time a deputy was diverted outside town for a higher‑priority incident would stop the contract clock so the town would not pay for time away from contracted hours. County counsel said the partnership is intended as a responsive model in which the mayor and council set local priorities and the county executes them.

Council members raised both fiscal and operational questions: how much revenue the court and traffic fines realistically contribute under current law (a recent state change limits fines used for general fund revenue), how investigations and prosecution of higher‑level cases would be handled, and the potential liability or contract costs for maintaining positions protected under USERRA for deployed officers.

No formal vote was taken at the May 27 meeting. The council invited further work on numbers and indicated any decision would need to respect statutory notice and transition timelines.

The council adjourned the special meeting after public comment with a motion to adjourn seconded and no roll‑call vote recorded.